Out for the Count
by Brit2
Summary: Harper and Tyr meet the Count. Is he what he seems to be are our boys in trouble. Feedback craved:)
1. I've Got a Bad Feeling About This

Title: Out for the Count Status: WIP Rating: PG13 By: Brit Summary: A little horror tale, mostly Harper and Tyr but everyone will get to play.  
  
"Did I say that I have a very bad feeling about this?" Harper looked at the dark, forbidding looking mansion with apprehension.  
  
"Only about a dozen times an hour boy." Tyr was exasperated and it showed in his voice.  
  
"Well I do have a very, very bad feeling about this." Harper was unrepentant. "I am not going to be the first one through that door, it has cobwebs on it."  
  
Tyr growled and pushed past the young engineer.  
  
Harper followed him reluctantly. The door creaked open and the two walked in. The doorway opened on to a large hall. There was a fireplace at one end of it and a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A wide flight of stairs let to an upper storey.  
  
Harpers comm link suddenly activated and Dylan's voice came over it loud and clear, too loud and clear. Harper jumped and nearly dropped the gauss gun he was carrying.  
  
The door creaked shut behind the two Andromeda crewmembers, as it did so the comm link went silent.  
  
"Uh oh," Harper was definitely freaked now. "Did I say...." He stopped abruptly at the sight of a tall cadaverous man standing at the top of the flight of stairs.  
  
"Welcome gentlemen," the man spoke in a deep resounding voice. "The master is waiting for you."  
  
Harper nudged Tyr; the big Nietzschean's face was as impassive as ever. "Do not do that again boy or I will." What Tyr would have done will never be disclosed as the servant coughed hollowly to gain their attention.  
  
"Gentlemen," the man walked down the stairs and over to the pair. "Follow me please, it would not be wise to keep the master waiting."  
  
He led the way to a door on the left hand side of the hallway. Tyr and Harper followed behind him.  
  
"Tyr how did they know we were about to arrive, we didn't know it ourselves?"  
  
"Hush boy and enjoy their hospitality."  
  
"But Tyr."  
  
"Harper."  
  
They walked into a large dining room. A table stood in the centre of the room. Cut glass and fine crockery gleamed in the light of thirteen black candles.  
  
A tall man with jet-black hair stood by a sideboard a glass of blood red liquid in his hand.  
  
"Gentlemen," the servant said. "Allow me to introduce the Count." 


	2. Thirteen for Dinner

The Count smiled at the two visitors. His skin was as pale as milk, he had red full lips and when he parted them a glimpse of sharp white teeth was seen.  
  
"Welcome Gentlemen," he spoke common with a strong accent.  
  
Harper shuddered at the sound of his voice.  
  
"Won't you put down your weapons, you will not need them here."  
  
Harper gripped his gauss gun like a vice.  
  
It was Tyr's turn to nudge the engineer. He did so with a well-aimed elbow to Harper's ribs. "Put the weapon down little man, we are guests here and your manners are atrocious."  
  
If he hadn't been winded by Tyr's prod to his ribs Harper would have protested bitterly. As it was his mouth opened but only a gasp came out.  
  
The Count sat down at the head of the huge dining table; his servant seated Harper and Tyr at either side of him.  
  
The Count clicked his fingers. "Tell the ladies to join us," he said.  
  
The servant left and the Count turned to speak to Tyr, ignoring Harper. "I must apologise for the candles, this inclement weather has caused a power outage throughout the area."  
  
As if to emphasise his words there was a flash of forked lightening and a crash of thunder. Harper jumped and almost knocked over his wine.  
  
The Count addressed Tyr once more. "Is your companion always this nervous?" Tyr growled. "I have no idea what the problem is with him, he should be grateful that we are not stranded outside in these dreadful weather conditions."  
  
He gave Harper a glare, which if it had connected would have probably turned the young man to stone. Harper was however, looking elsewhere. His eyes popping and his mouth open he was watching as ten extremely beautiful young women entered the room. They all had long jet-black hair and looked sufficiently like the Count to be related to him.  
  
"Allow me to introduce my sisters," the Count stood while the girls were seated. Tyr also stood up immediately. It took a little longer for the stunned Harper to get to his feet. The engineer smirked at the Nietzschean; perhaps things were looking up.  
  
Harper was quite happy until he realised that they would be thirteen at table. He sat down heavily.  
  
The servant re entered the room carrying a serving platter. Delicious smells wafted towards the two Andromedans. The man lifted the lid of the dish and served a selection of starters to Tyr and Harper. He then left again as silently as he had come in.  
  
Harper looked at his plate, then at the Count and his sisters.  
  
"Aren't you having any of this," he queried? Alarm bells were ringing again. The Count's expression was sad. "Unfortunately my sisters and I have a genetic disposition to digestive problems. We can only eat a very restricted diet. We will eat later. We can however enjoy this wonderful wine. He raised his glass.  
  
"A toast to our visitors," he said.  
  
Ten glasses were raised and ten dulcet voices joined in the toast.  
  
Harper's mind was once again working overtime. No food, what exactly did the Count eat. Were he and Tyr about to become the main course at a family feast? He took a swig of his wine. It was wonderful. His glass was never allowed to become empty, the Count was a most attentive host.  
  
Course followed course, each dish more amazing than the previous one. When they had finished eating the Count dismissed his sisters with a wave of his hand.  
  
"Now if you will excuse me, we are early to bed here. Tomorrow morning I will arrange for my men to accompany you to your ship, we will give you any assistance that we can. My servant will show you to your rooms.  
  
The manservant led Tyr and Harper up the stairs. The old man carried a large candlestick. The first room they came to was Harper's, Tyr was next door.  
  
The first thing Harper did on entering his room was to jam a chair under the door handle. No one was getting into the room without him knowing about it. There was a lighted candle on the bedside table. The bed was a huge four poster. Under different circumstances Harper would have thoroughly enjoyed his surroundings.  
  
He sat on the bed with every intention of staying awake. His eyelids drooped and he was soon asleep.  
  
He was woken by a knocking on his door.  
  
"Who's there," he called nervously.  
  
"It's me," the answer came in Tyr's well-known voice.  
  
Breathing a sigh of relief Harper jumped off the bed and went to open the door. Tyr walked in and Harper shut the door after him, replacing the chair as he did so.  
  
"Now little man, an explanation of your behaviour this evening." Tyr did not sound amused.  
  
"Tyr for the sake of the Divine, have you never heard of vampires."  
  
Tyr's expression showed that he had not.  
  
"It's part of Earth's history. Count Dracula, he drank human blood, he was undead and he lived in a bit spooky house just like this." Harper could hardly get the words out quickly enough.  
  
Tyr laughed out loud. "Harper that is just a myth it isn't history, just a story."  
  
"Well story or not I have a bad feeling about all of this. I wish we had never left the Maru."  
  
"Boy, we had to leave the Maru to get help. We are lucky to have come across such a hospitable host."  
  
"Why didn't we say anything to him about the Maru? I've just realised we didn't say a word about how we got here. He seemed to already know all about us." Harper was almost freaking out at the thought.  
  
"Perhaps they are telepathic?" Tyr ever practical had an answer for every one of Harper's concerns.  
  
"I think they lured us here." Harper wasn't giving up easily.  
  
"Foolish child," Tyr's voice was stern. "I suppose they arranged for the storm, and for the Maru's crash. I have heard enough of this nonsense, go to bed and go to sleep."  
  
Tyr made his way to the door intending to go back to his own room. Harper managed to get in front of him and blocked his exit.  
  
"Tyr, please, stay with me, the bed is big enough for both of us and I don't think it would be a very good idea for us to split up."  
  
Tyr took one look at his panic stricken face and relented. "Very well, but if you sleep as restlessly as you normally do then you are on the floor."  
  
Harper decided that he would sleep in his clothes, he wanted to be able to make a quick getaway if necessary. He did allow Tyr to blow out the candle after making sure that he would be able to light it again.  
  
They had both just managed to fall asleep when a dreadful screaming reverberated through the mansion. 


	3. Someone's Knocking

The Andromeda characters do not belong to me. I wish!!!! Here is the next part of this lunacy. Some reviews would be nice:D  
  
  
  
Harper woke up in a state of panic-stricken shock. The scream had sounded very close by. He grabbed Tyr, who was not amused.  
  
"Boy remove your hand from me and gain control of yourself."  
  
Suddenly there was a hammering on the door. Harper felt as if his heart was beating in time with it. Tyr got up and went to find out who was there. He opened the door; standing outside was a small dark haired girl. She was dressed simply in what appeared to be a servant's outfit.  
  
"Sir for the love of the great Spirit let me in." She was sobbing and wringing her hands. Harper had never actually seen anyone do that before.  
  
"Tyr, no," Harper hissed at him. "She might be one of them, you know a vampire." He was almost scared to say the word out loud. "If you don't invite them in they can't bite you."  
  
Tyr laughed out loud. "Fool of a boy, this house belongs to the Count, if any of his family or staff were vampires they would be able to go wherever they liked." He indicated to the girl that she should enter the room.  
  
Once inside she rushed over to Harper and hugged him. Tyr looked a little surprised at this; he had been the one to let her in not the boy. He would never understand kludges.  
  
Harper tried to back away to avoid the girl's embrace but he was too slow. "Sir thank you so kindly, I was afeared for my immortal soul."  
  
They all sat down and the girl told her story. She was a new serving maid and had just started work that same day. She explained that she had been about to go to bed when the Count had suddenly appeared in her room. Between sobs she told them how the man had made advances to her and had tried to bite her neck.  
  
Harper flashed Tyr an 'I told you so' look. Tyr did not appear convinced. "Did the Count actually bite you child?" He wondered if the girl was as innocent as she seemed. "Sometimes men and women bite each other in a certain way during intimacy."  
  
Harper was highly amused at Tyr trying to explain the facts of life to the young woman. His amusement didn't stop him from looking round him warily while the Nietzschean spoke.  
  
The engineer was feeling restless and he got up and prowled round the room. There was a large fireplace set into one wall; he hadn't noticed it before because a screen had been placed in front of it. Harper moved the screen and investigated further.  
  
He decided that it was just for effect, the mansion was adequately heated, if a little on the cold side. Harper being Harper stuck his head up the chimney. A small fall of soot landed on his upturned face, making him splutter. He was about to walk back to Tyr and the girl when he heard something.  
  
The noise started as a gentle rustling, growing louder and louder. It was definitely coming from the chimney. Harper backed away as the noise got closer and closer.  
  
A stream of black bats erupted from the fireplace. Harper gave a stifled scream and ran. The bats followed him attacking with their sharp claws and teeth. Tyr and the girl were also soon surrounded.  
  
The three of them ran with the bats in pursuit. Tyr was in the lead and Harper and the girl followed closely behind him. They were all swatting the air trying to stop at least some of the creatures.  
  
They ran blindly down the corridors, all three were bleeding from numerous deep scratches and bites. Tyr, still in the lead skidded to a halt. In front of him were two shadowy figures. Harper let out a yelp of pure terror. The girl was so scared that she fainted, falling against him and almost knocking him to the floor.  
  
A voice came from one of the newcomers. "I see you have the women falling at your feet as usual Harper."  
  
Harper knew that voice; it was laconic, sarcastic, and very, very sexy.  
  
"Beka," he shouted. "Thank the divine you've come to save us."  
  
The other figure was Dylan and he explained that they'd been worried when they had no reply to their comms. Harper remembered a message starting to come through as they'd entered the mansion.  
  
"I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life." He babbled as Tyr explained what had been happening.  
  
The bats had disappeared as quickly as they had appeared and when Harper knelt down to see how the servant girl was she had gone too. He went back down the corridor a little way to see if he could find her but there was no sign. She must have recovered and run away. He turned to go back to Tyr and the others. A shadowy figure stood in front of him.  
  
"OK is that you Trance, not funny, scaring Harper is not good."  
  
The figure spoke. "I am sorry Mr Harper but I am not your Trance." The Count stood in front of Harper blocking his way. The man grinned, it was not a nice grin and it showed that the Count had acquired some very sharp looking fangs.  
  
"Oh crap." Harper did the only thing that he could do; he turned round and ran in the opposite direction. The Count's laughter echoing after him. 


	4. Run, Harper, Run

Here is some more:D  
  
  
  
Harper ran as he'd never run before. Faster than he'd run from either the Magog or the Nietzscheans. He shot through the corridors as if the Devil himself was after him. As far as Harper was concerned he could well be. He rounded a bend, there seemed to be far more corridor than was likely given the size of the house. Sure it was a huge mansion but Harper felt as if he'd run miles.  
  
He stopped to catch his breath, as he did a large bat flew over his head. He watched in a panic as the bat stretched, grew and changed. Once again the Count stood in front of the small human. Harper didn't have enough breath left to swear even briefly. He turned on his heel and ran back again. He heard the Count's unearthly laughter coming from somewhere very close behind him.  
  
Just as his last reserve of strength was depleted an opening appeared in the wall beside him. An arm reached out and grabbed Harper pulling him through the doorway. There was a grinding noise as the huge slab of stone realigned with the wall. Harper looked at his rescuer; it was the little servant girl. She put a finger to her lips and signalled to him to follow her.  
  
Harper was so pleased to see her that he followed without question. For a self-proclaimed genius he certainly made a lot of mistakes. They walked through gloomy cobweb laden tunnels for what seemed like hours. The tunnels twisted and turned and Harper lost all sense of direction. He would never be able to find his way back to the doorway.  
  
The girl was carrying some sort of torch. Its flame flickered and guttered adding to the general spookiness of the surroundings. Unidentifiable things flew past them getting tangled in their hair and flapping against their faces. Harper didn't want to know what they were, he was just happy that they weren't bats.  
  
They came to an area of the tunnels where water was running down green slimed walls, it was slippery underfoot and Harper almost fell more than once. The girl strode on ahead as sure-footed as Harper was clumsy.  
  
They finally came to a huge wooden door. There was a large rusty key in the lock and the girl turned it and opened the door. The room beyond was well lit and Harper squinted in the unaccustomed glare.  
  
Waiting in the room were the Count's ten sisters. Harper turned to leave and found his way barred by the servant girl. She slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.  
  
One of the sisters came forwards; she patted the girl as if she were a favoured pet. "Clever little thing," she said. "But where is the other one, the big one? Go girl and find him, this one will never satisfy all of us, he is too small."  
  
"Hey," Harper drew himself up to his full 5' 6". "Have no fears, Harper is the love god. Trust in the Harper and you won't be disappointed."  
  
He'd noticed that the ladies did not appear to have fangs, perhaps they weren't vampires. That didn't make sense though because if the Count were a vampire then surely his sisters would be too.  
  
One of the other sisters came up and pinched his arm. "Not a lot of meat on him girls but needs must, he will make a tasty snack while we wait for the other one."  
  
Harper shivered. "What do you mean a tasty snack, you're not vampires so why do you want to make a tasty snack of me."  
  
"Foolish boy," the first sister sounded suspiciously like Tyr. "Of course we aren't vampires, whatever made you think that? Our brother is a vampire but we aren't." She started to laugh and the others joined in. Their laughter was the most hideous sound that Harper had ever heard.  
  
"If you aren't vampires," he stuttered. "What are you?"  
  
She stopped laughing long enough to say "Ghouls, of course, what did you think we were?" The evil cackling continued and as it did their faces began to change. Their teeth grew longer and pointed and their skin began to turn grey. Their lustrous black locks fell away leaving scabrous bald heads.  
  
Harper was so scared he thought he would die on the spot. He could almost feel his heart stop. He realised that he was still wearing his tool belt. He pulled out the largest screwdriver he owned. He wasn't going down without a fight.  
  
He mustered up the very last reserves of his courage. "Come on then," he screamed at them. "If you want me come and get me."  
  
The ten ghouls started to advance on the terrified engineer.  
  
TBC 


	5. Fangs R Us

Harper backed away, trying desperately to escape from the ghouls. He was vaguely aware of the door opening behind him, but the first ghoul was already on him. He slashed at it with the screw driver, grunting in satisfaction as the tool connected with its foul flesh. Hot foetid blood spurted over him and he pushed its body away. Another attacked him from behind taking a large bite out of his left shoulder. Harper spun round to try and attack the fiend.  
  
"Need a hand kiddo?" Beka shot the ghoul between its eyes.  
  
Harper sobbed with relief when he heard Beka's voice. Dylan was right behind her. The three of them were soon trying to fight off the enraged sisters. Dylan fought like a man possessed. His movements were a blur as he used his force lance to slice through the creatures.  
  
"Where's Tyr?" Harper managed to gasp.  
  
"Lost him, thought he was right behind us. S'OK, Nietzscheans and cats always land on their feet." Beka tried to reassure Harper but her voice sounded worried.  
  
Unfortunately they were still outnumbered by two to one. Beka glanced over at the other two. "Time to get out of Dodge I think." She headed for the door, shooting another ghoul at point blank range as she did. The two men followed her. The five remaining creatures followed them.  
  
The Andromeda's crew-members were once again running for their lives. They raced through the corridors pursued by the screaming ghouls. Harper was having trouble keeping up with Beka and Dylan. He had lost a lot of blood from his shoulder wound and he was becoming weaker by the minute. Beka noticed that he was in trouble and grabbed his good arm to drag him along. Dylan made sure he was between Beka and Harper and their attackers.  
  
After a few minutes the sounds of pursuit died away. The three stopped, they were breathing heavily, exhausted by their ordeal. Harper slumped to the floor. Beka knelt down by him, her face full of concern. "Come on Harper, don't you dare give up on me now." She looked straight into his eyes. "We're gonna get out of here."  
  
He smiled back weakly. "Yeah Boss, I know, I'm good, just let me sit here for a minute." He leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes.  
  
"Come on Harper." Beka shook him. He mumbled something but didn't open his eyes.  
  
"Beka, we have to move." Dylan was worried. "We have no idea where those things went and we don't know where the Count is either."  
  
He bent down and picked Harper up, throwing him over his shoulder. They began to walk through the corridors again, despite having no idea where they were. More by luck than judgement eventually they came to a large wooden door, it opened easily and suddenly they were in the large entrance hall. Tyr was standing by the staircase. He was leaning against the banisters, his arms folded.  
  
Dylan put the now conscious Harper down. The engineer struggled to his feet. "Tyr, thank the Divine." He stumbled over to Tyr and hugged the man. Tyr looked down at Harper. He smiled when he saw the fresh blood running down the small human's arm. Tyr licked his lips, his sharp fangs showing prominently. He leaned forward and with a snarl pierced Harper's neck.  
  
The Count and his sisters, all now restored to life and beauty appeared on the stairs behind Tyr. Their eldritch laughter resounded in Harper's ears as he struggled to get away.  
  
Harper felt the sharp sting in his neck. He heard Beka calling his name. He looked up and saw Trance looking down at him, she was holding a hypo. Where had she come from? "Trance, run." He tried to sit up. Where was he, he looked round. He was lying on a bed in the medical deck on the Andromeda. Beka, Dylan and Tyr were standing by his bed. Tyr leaned forward, Harper tried to get away from him. "No, don't let him near me." Harper was panicking now.  
  
"It's all right Harper, you're safe now, Tyr managed to get the Maru back on board. Both you and the ship were pretty knocked about by that electrical storm" Trance tried to soothe the young man. You've been in a coma for days, you started to become agitated about an hour ago so I decided to try and wake you up.  
  
"Boy," Tyr's voice was gruff. "Do not scare us like that again."  
  
"Beka, Dylan he's a vampire, look at his teeth, he bit me." Harper wasn't convinced by Trance's explanation.  
  
"You banged your head when we crashed and you got a nasty gash on your shoulder. You've been unconscious ever since. I managed to take off again and got us back to the Andromeda." Tyr tried to explain.  
  
"No." Harper shook his head and winced at the pain. "We went to this big creepy mansion full of vampires and ghouls. They were going to eat me. Tyr got turned into a vampire and he bit me." He looked round in terror. "That makes me a vampire too. I'm a vampire. Oh God I'm one of the undead. No, no, no this is not good." He was very scared and the monitors showed his accelerating heart beat.  
  
"Harper, you are no more a vampire than I am." Tyr's voice was calm and matter of fact. "He held a mirror up to Harper. "Can you see any bite marks?"  
  
The engineer looked; a big smile spread across his face when he realised that he had a reflection. "Tyr," he said. "Just to set my mind at rest will you look in the mirror too? Vampires don't have a reflection."  
  
Tyr sighed. "I see no need for this charade but if it will make you happy I will show you my reflection in the mirror." The Nietzschean took the mirror and glanced into it, he angled it to show Harper that he was indeed visible in the glass.  
  
"Now child less of this nonsense. You must get well, the Maru is in need of repair." Tyr smiled. "Of course once it is repaired we could always go back down to the planet and indulge in a little vampire hunting. I have read the works of Mr Bram Stoker and..  
  
Weak though he still was Harper managed to throw a pillow at Tyr, cutting the Nietzschean off in mid sentence.  
  
Trance smiled secretively, she knew all about vampires and ghouls too for that matter, but she wasn't telling! There were some things humans just weren't ready for. 


End file.
